Heating system



Oct. 17,4 1939. K 3. E. MooRE 2.176.539

HEATING SYSTEM Filed July 9, 1957 2 sheets-sneu i R. E. MOORE HEATING SYSTEM Oct. 17, 1939.

Filed July 9, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented oci. 17, 1939 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to heating systemsl of the steam and hot Water type and more particularly to an automatic arrangement for preventing overheating of the water in the system, whether oil,

gas or coal red.

During the heating. season, steam and hot water heating systems occasionally become overheated due to the failure of thermostatic deviceswhich are intended to regulate the temperature of the boiler water in gas and oil-fired boilers by controlling the operation of the burner. Particularly does this condition obtain in systems which are not equipped with aguastata such as those incorporating hand-fired boilers in which 16 the boiler water is subjected to continuous heat.

' Overheating presents a serious operating and economic problem in numerous localities because where the service Water is indirectly heated by the boiler Water to a temperature in excess of 140 rapidly in the coils or tubes of the heater, thus reducing the rate of heat exchange and lowering the temperature of the water available at the service outlets. This liming condition is conheating.

Itis also desirable for the same reasons to prevent this overheating during the summer season, particularly in the case of steam boilers which are equipped with submerged heaters for heating service water. pass to the radiators which is objectionable. With hot water systems, on the other hand, while the ow of hot water to the radiators can be prevented by the usual automatically controlled 4valves in the supply and return lines, the problem of loverheating still remains as regards the boiler and the service water heating portion of the system.v

It is therefore one object of my invention to provide means for automatically preventing overheating of the water in a heating system by utilizing the cold Water supply as a cooling agent, and permitting this Water to continuously circulate through tubes exposed to the heated water in the system until the desired temperature reduction is effected.

A further object is to accomplish this reduction by circulating the cold water through the coils lortubes forming a part of theheater which is ordinarily employed to heat the service water, and to automatically control this circulation by the temperature of the boiler water.

'I'hese and further objects of my invention will be set forth in the following speciflcatio-n, referdegrees Fahrenheit, deposits of lime are formed tinuously aggravated by recurrent periods of over- Otherwise, steam wil1` ence being had to the accompanying drawings, and the novel means by which said objects are effectuated will be definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings Figure l is an elevation of a typical hot water heating system showing the application of my invention thereto.

Fig 2 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, of the thermostatically controlled valve which regulates the iiow of water to the service ifixtures or to a drain, dependent upon its posiion.

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 1, but showing my invention applied to a steam boiler provided with a submerged water heater.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of one form of temperature controlled valve which may be employed with-the system shown in Fig. 3. y

By way of example, one form of my invention will be described in connection with a hot Water. heating system which incorporates a hand-fired boiler and an external water heater. The invention may also be used, however, in systems"-having Stoker, oil or gas fired boilers and water heaters which are submerged directly in the boiler water.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I0 designates a coal fired boiler which is connected by supply and return lines I I and I2, respectively, to any desired heating system provided with the usual radiators (not shown). A tank I3 is connected by an inlet pipe I4 to the supply line II and by an outlet pipe I5 to the return line l2,y thus providing for a constant circulation of water at substantially boiler temperature through the tank I3. v

An indirect water heater I6 is submerged within the tank I3 and it includes a plurality of tubes I'I which are supported at their ends by headers I8 and I9. The Water heater I6 per se forms no part of my invention and it may in the usual manner be composed of two groups of tubes in order to provide for two traverses of the incoming flow of water through the hot Water in the tank I3. Other tube arrangements may be adapted as desired. One of these groups of tubes have their inlet ends in communication with an inlet chamber 20 provided in the header' I8, while the delivery end of the other group discharges into an outlet chamber 2| provided in the same eader. The header I9 is common to the opposite ends of both groups of tubes.

A cold water supply pipe 22 is connected at one end to the chamber 20 and at the opposite end .to a constant supply of cold water, such as a city main (not shown). The outlet chamber 2l is connected by a pipe 23 to any desired number of service iixtures (not shown) and located in the pipe 23 is a valve body 24 which carries a drain pipe 25.

A valve plug 28 is rotatably mounted within the body 24 and it is provided with an inverted T-shaped passage comprising a horizontal passage 21 and a vertical passage 28, both of these passages connecting with each other. Externally of the body 24, a rock arm 29 is secured to the valve plug 26 and the free end of this arm is plvotally connected to one end of a lever 38 which is intermediately pivoted on a bracket '3i carried in the tank i3, so that as the liquid within the Vthe right andJ so rotate the lever 30.

bellows expands, the latter will elongate toward As the temperature falls, the bellows will automatically contract due to the characteristic construction of this device. Bellows of this type are in common`use in hot water heating systems, so that it is unnecessary to enter into any detailed description of its construction. .In place of this arrangement, an electrically operated valve controlled by an aquastat, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 3, may be employed.

Y En the operation of the system shown, it will be `assumed, for example, that the bellows i3 has been adjusted to actuate the valve when the temperature of the water in the tank reaches 215 degrees Fahrenheit. Below this temperature, the valve plug 2S occupies the position shown in Fig. 2 in which water from the heater i8 may pass freely througnthe pipe 23 to the service iixture, but denying passage of water to the drain pipe 25. At the determined temperature, however, the elongation of the bellows 33 rocks the valve plug 26 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, to thereby place the pas- Sge 28 in communication with the outlet chamber 2i and the passage 2 in communication with the drain pipe 25. Under these conditions, no water can pass to the service fixture, but cold water will ow continuously through the heater it directly to the drain 25 and will thus continuously abstract heat from the water in the tank i3 until the temperature of the water in this tank falls below the temperature at which the bellows 33 has been set to operate. When this temperature is reached, the bellows 33 automatically retracts and places the valve plug 26 in theposition illustrated in Fig. 2.

This arrangement for preventing overheating in hot water heating systems is therefore .wholly independent of the type of ring employed for the boiler i8 and is also independent of any failure of the electrical circuits` which are comymonly associated with automatically fired boilers.

ates automatically to reduce the temperature of the water in the system to any predetermined l point.

ln accordance with standard practice, the hot c water heating system illustrated in Fig. 1 may be provided with the usual iiow control valves 35 and V.inlet end of the pipe 4Q.

36 in the supply and return lines Il andd I2, respectively, which normally close these lines, but are adapted to be opened by pressure established by a pump 3l that may be located in the return line S21/or at any other convenient point in the system; This pump may be driven by a motor 38 which is electrically connected to a room thermostat 39;

'Ihese flow control valves do not form any part of my invention per se, but they aiiord a convenient arrangement for preventing passage of hot Water'to the radiators during the summer months. During this period, it will be understood that the room thermostat 39 would be set so that it would. be incapable of initiating the operation of the motor 38. Hence the valves 35 and 38 would then occupy the closed positions illustrated in Fig. 1 and theonly circulation of hot water from the boiler i8 would be that through the tank i3.

ln Fig. 3 is illustrated the application of my improved cooling uarrangement to a heating system incorporating a steam boiler. 'I'his boiler isV designated by the numeral 48 and it may be connected to the usual radiators (not shown) by a supply line Eli and a return line 42. The numeral 633 designates the water line of the boiler.

submerged in the boiler water is a water heater it whose construction may be similar to that of the heater it, and to which cold water is fed through a supply pipe 35. Hot water from the heater is delivered through an intermediate pipe 33 to a valve body il and to this body are also connected a drain pipe G8 and a pipe Il@ that are connected to service fixtures (not shown). The valve body is provided with a valve seat 58 adjacent the inlet end of the drain pipe l5 and also a valve seat I which is located'adjacent the Preferably, for the arrangement shown, these seats are axially aligned and they are intended to be engaged'by one of the faces of a dual faced valve 52 whose stem extends outwardly of the valve body el for n suitable connection to a motor 53. The motor' is electrically connected by a "pair of wires 513 to any suitable form of aquastat 55 which extends through the boiler wall for submersion in the boiler water. The connection of the motor 53 to thevalve 52 is in accordance with standard practice for devices of this kind and the arrangement is such that when the motor is operated the valve 52 will be lifted from seating engagement with the valve seat 58 into seating engagement with the valve seat 5i, and when the current through the motor is interrupted, the

. `valve 52 will be returned to theposition illustrated in Fig. 4. by means of a coil spring 56 which encircles the stem of the valve with one end thereof abutting against the top surface of th valve and the ropposite end Yagainst the interior of the valve body 3l.

During winter operation, the aquastat 55 may be set to close the/circuit through the motor 53 when the temperature of the boiler water reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit, or whatever temperature i may be the design limit of the bollerf In any case, this temperature would be such as to provide for satisfactory steaming by the boiler in order to furnish steam for the radiating unitsl of the system. When the temperature of Fthe boiler water reaches the point at which the aquastat has been set, the motor 53 will operate to raise the valve 52 from the normal position shown in Fig. 4 to thereby connect the cold water supply pipe with the drain pipe 48, thus providing for a. constant circulation of cold water through the heater 44 until the temperature of the boiler water has been reduced below that at which the aquastat 55 has been set. It will be understood that, when the valve 52 is raised from contact with the seat 5U', its movement is suicient to seat the valve 52 against the valve seat 5I and thus interrupt the ow of the water through the pipe 49 to the service fixtures.

During summer operation, the aquastat 55 may be adjusted to a temperature just below that at which the water in the boiler would steam, thus assuring an adequate supply of. hot water for the faucets, while preventing the generation of any steam that would otherwise pass through the radiators.. The operation of the valve under these conditions is identical with that heretofore described, the only dilerence residing in the temperature at which the aquastat 55 closes the circuit through the motor 53. f

I claim:

1. Apparatus for preventing overheating of the boiler water of a heating system and ior providing hot service water comprising a hollow device having a heat transferring surface adapted for submergence in that water of the system which is substantially at boiler temperature, an

inlet pipe for the device adapted for connection to a cold water supply, an outlet pipe adapted for connection to a.service xture, valve means having a drain openingin the outlet pipeand shiftable between positions connecting the supply to the xture to furnish hot water and to the drain to cool the boiler water when the temperature thereof attains a predetermined point, respectively, and thermostatic means responsive to the temperature of the boiler water for controlling the position of the valve means.

2. Apparatus for preventing overheating of the boiler water of a heating system and for providing hot service water comprising a tubular water heater ad'tpted for submergence in that water of the system which is substantially at boiler temperature, an inlet pipe for connecting the heater with a cold water supply, an outlet pipe for connecting the heater to a service fixture, a drain pipe connected to the outlet pipe, a valve mounted at the junction of the outlet and drain pipes and shiftable between positions connecting the supply to the fixture to furnish hot water and to the drain pipe to cool the boiler water when the temperature thereof attains a predetermined point, respectively, and thermostatic means responsive to the temperature of. the boiler water for controlling the position of the valve.

ROBERT E. MOORE. 

